A diamond set tiara in the Russian taste designed as flowers in the rain. The leaves, petals, and raindrops are open work. Made by Boucheron in May 1910. (Munn, p. 311)
Made by Cartier in 1902, it was given to her by her parents on the occasion of her wedding to Nicholas of Greece and Denmark. It was inherited by her daughter Olga of Greece and Denmark, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia, but its whereabouts are unknown.
The tiara was made by Boucheron in 1900 for their display at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Prince Carl of Sweden saw the tiara and bought it for his wife Princess Ingeborg. It was later adapted to include three pearl elements that may have belonged to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger.
Princess Ingeborg (above left) gave the tiara to her granddaughter, Princess Ragnhild (above right), but before that it was worn by two of her daughters, Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (below left) and Princess Margaretha of Denmark (below right). Princess Ingeborg is Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s great-great grandmother.
The story was always that of Princess Ragnhild’s two tiaras, Queen Maud’s Diamond Tiara would go back to the mainline of the family and the Pearl Circle Tiara would stay with her descendants since it was never really part of the Norwegian collection. It’s unclear if the tiara was inherited by King Harald after Ragnhild died in 2012 or if he bought it from his sister’s family. If anyone lives in Norway and reads Se og Hør, let me know if there’s any more information.
I generally don’t believe these kinds of stories in magazines but Isaksen is very trustworthy. I hope it’s true because I want this it to belong to the Norwegian royals going forward. It’s decent size tiara but the design is so light that I think it will work well for a young princess so long as she has some good tiara hair. I can’t wait for Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s 18th birthday gala on June 17th!
The tiara is inspired by Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, with flowers and ribbons gently flowing in the spring breeze. It is part of the 2017 Mikimoto High Jewelry “Praise to Nature” Collection which pays homage to vibrantly changing faces of nature in the form of beautiful jewelry.
Napoleon gave the Diadem to his second wife, the Empress Marie-Louise, on the occasion of their marriage. Originally the diadem, commissioned in 1810, was set with emeralds, which were replaced in the mid-1950s with turquoise. It was made by Etienne Nitot et Fils of Paris. The diadem was one piece of a parure that also included a necklace and earrings (now in the Louvre) and comb (disassembled), all in emeralds, diamonds, silver and gold. Marie-Louise bequeathed the diadem and accompanying jewelry to her Hapsburg aunt, Archduchess Elise.
The jewelry was acquired by Van Cleef & Arpels from one of Archduchess Elise’s descendants, Archduke Karl Stefan Hapsburg of Sweden, in 1953, along with a document attesting to their provenance. During the period from May 1954 to June 1956, the emeralds were removed from the diadem by Van Cleef & Arpels and sold individually in pieces of jewelry. A newspaper advertisement placed by the company in 1955 promised: “An emerald for you from the historic Napoleonic Tiara…” Sometime between 1956 and 1962, Van Cleef & Arpels mounted the turquoise into the diadem. In 1962, the diadem with turquoise, was displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris along with the necklace, earrings, and comb, as part of a special exhibition on Empress Marie-Louise. Marjorie Merriweather Post purchased the diadem from Van Cleef & Arpels and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1971. The diadem* is an elaborate design of scrolls, palmettes and medallions and contains 79 Persian turquoise stones (totaling 540cts) and 1,006 old mine cut diamonds (totaling 700cts) set in silver and gold.
*A crown encircles the head in a complete circle and can be worn by men and women; diadems and tiaras are forms of crowns: a diadem is not a complete circle (usually ¾ way around), it has an opening in the back and can also be worn by men and women; a tiara (semi-circular high crown) is a smaller headpiece worn at the front of the head, by women only.
TIARA ALERT: Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore Queen Juliana’s Aquamarine Tiara for the banquet during the state visit from India at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam on 5 April 2022.
Tiara from a parure owned by Stéphanie de Beauharnais, adopted daughter of Napoleon I. Originally a belt, Princess Josephine of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen, her middle daughter, had it remounted to a tiara.
TIARA ALERT: Isabelle Junot wore a pearl and diamond tiara at her wedding to Álvaro Falcó Chávarri, 4th Marqués de Cubas, at the Palacio del Marqués de Mirabel in Plasencia, Spain on 2 April 2022.
The tiara was a gift to Carlota Maximiliana de Escandón y Barrón, Duquesa de Montellano, from her mother when she married Felipe Falcó y Ossorio, 8th Duque de Montellano, in 1891. Chaumet made her corbeille de mariage and it wouldn’t surprise me if they also made this tiara. It looks like the top diamonds and pear shaped pearls have been removed. I don’t know who in the Falcó family currently owns the tiara but it was also worn by the groom’s cousin, Alejandra ‘Xandra’ Falcó y Girod, 13th Marquesa de Mirabel, at her wedding to Jaime Carvajal Hoyos in 1998.
Made in 1856 for Maria, Countess Granville, to wear in Moscow to celebrate the coronation of Tsar Alexander II. The set has 88 gems and intaglios in total including carnelian, amethyst, garnets, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds some of which dates back to ancient times
The treasures of Hera : Greek antiquities from Crotone, in southern Italy’s Calabria
In Crotone there was one of the most important sanctuaries in Magna Graecia (the area of southern Italy populated by Greek settlers from the eighth century BC). It was dedicated to the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus and queen of the gods, who was venerated here as the protector of women, as well as a type of Mother Nature.
Excavations in Crotone in 1910 uncovered a treasure trove of gold, silver and bronze votive offerings to the goddess, which provide insight into the people and traditions of the time.
The most outstanding piece is a glistening gold diadem, or tiara, shaped out of a band of gold leaf and decorated with both a braid pattern and foliage garland. Interestingly, coins used in Crotone from the fourth century portrayed a crowned head of Hera.
To this day, the diadem still maintains its golden glow and is quite a treat to stumble upon in the museum.
Previously undiscovered photo of undocumented Russian Crown Jewels were recently discovered in the USGS library. The photo appear in a 1922 album called “Russian Diamond Fund,” that was uncovered in the rare book room of the library. This diadem was one of the four undocumented jewels.
The treasures of Hera : Greek antiquities from Crotone, in southern Italy’s Calabria
In Crotone there was one of the most important sanctuaries in Magna Graecia (the area of southern Italy populated by Greek settlers from the eighth century BC). It was dedicated to the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus and queen of the gods, who was venerated here as the protector of women, as well as a type of Mother Nature.
Excavations in Crotone in 1910 uncovered a treasure trove of gold, silver and bronze votive offerings to the goddess, which provide insight into the people and traditions of the time.
The most outstanding piece is a glistening gold diadem, or tiara, shaped out of a band of gold leaf and decorated with both a braid pattern and foliage garland. Interestingly, coins used in Crotone from the fourth century portrayed a crowned head of Hera.
To this day, the diadem still maintains its golden glow and is quite a treat to stumble upon in the museum.
